Sibenik, Croatia: Summer Days and Ferry Delays

This will most likely not be my only post about Croatia, as there’s a whole trip from the previous year with my friend from the US which these photos and memories don’t even cover. But I promise, this will already be enough to wet your appetite for a nice swim in some Croatian waterfalls!

In June of 2012 (BB, before Ber) two friends, a Hungarian and an American, and I planned a trip together to Sibenik, Croatia and Krka National Park, before my planned return to the USA later that month. There are so many wonderful memories from the trip, and I’ll just have to depend on the pictures to convey most of them. However, a couple little stories for some context wouldn’t hurt I suppose.

The first little story is my most often told one from this trip. We spontaneously decided to go to an island for the day and when we went to the office to ask about ferry times and tickets, we were told that one would leave relatively soon. So we bought our tickets and headed in the direction we were confident was the direction of the harbor, only to realize, very very late, that we were at the wrong end of the harbor, and not only was there no ferry in sight, but there was no ferry on its way to being in sight. We took off running which is NOT my strong suit for the record. I think my friend Agi was the one who had the really good idea that one of us stop in to the ticket office and ask them if they could call and let the ferry know we were coming. It was a long shot but worth a try–and it worked! As we boarded, huffing and puffing, they pulled the ramp up behind us.

the ferry that waited for us

Later, as we enjoyed the absolutely incredible view of the water, I scrambled around the ferry taking as many pictures as I could, my way of “taking it all in”. While I stood up at the helm, the ferrymen asked me if I wanted to come in there and steer the ferry! Of course it didn’t even cross my mind to turn such an offer down. I don’t even remember looking back to see if my friends would notice where I had gone. I just sat down where they told me to (by pointing, only one could speak broken English), and steered that big, big boat towards our island. I was on cloud nine when the ferryman with the broken english opened his mouth to say something, paused and pointed at me, and said, “You! You the one we waited for.” He smiled while translating it for the others and I can only guess they were making fun of me, though the captain himself seemed a little less than impressed with their joking or with my existence for that matter. Suddenly I wondered if I shouldn’t be getting back to my friends….

Sorry for the poor quality, but there’s still no denying that wink. Naughty guy, take this more seriously!

There were a couple times on the trip when, the fact that we were three single women traveling alone, made for some mostly funny incidents.

We ate at a restaurant where there were some quite flirty performers and waiters, and though my friends would have to help fill me in on the details (My memories a bit foggy) I do remember that our waiter offered us what he called “fire water” for free after our meal which was probably something they offer everyone, but the way he looked at us with those huge brown eyes and flashing that big smile, it seemed like he was trying to be extra “generous”. After we all politely declined, he tried to assure us that it’s actually not that strong and that they make it themselves. We continued refusing until we actually felt bad, and I think we agreed to try one between the three of us. It was indeed exactly as “firewater” sounds. If my memory serves me well, we were so afraid of offending the guy and seeming like fuddy-duds, that we dumped the rest out under our table.

The restaurant where we were offered “fire water” however lemonade is pictured here. 😀

Swimming in the incredible blue green water was definitely a highlight of the trip, as I would guess it is of any trip to almost anywhere in Croatia. I remember thinking, if I never get married and never get to go on a honeymoon, I’ll at least have been on the next best thing with some of the best gals around! Croatia seemed like such a dream. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t heard of more people going there. I think I would choose it a million times over Paris and Rome . But I actually haven’t been those places yet, so who really knows…

THIS says it all. THIS is what it feels like to travel with friends who know you well and to enjoy the cool blue-green waters of Croatia together. ‘Nuff said.Oh, and here’s us trying to catch a few winks of sleep on the night train back to Hungary. Note the sunburned face! Alls well that ends well!

Enjoy the rest of the photos! The waterfalls are in Krka National Park, one of our main reasons for going to Sibenik in the first place, and we were not disappointed.

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Credits

Wedding photos used with permission. Taken by Adam Biri Photography. Other photos taken by me unless otherwise noted.